In the winter of 2014, the life of 26-year-old Hunter Miller was tragically cut short in Gautier, Mississippi. On the evening of January 14th, Miller, a popular waiter at The Hook Up restaurant in Biloxi, was involved in what authorities described as a prescription drug deal that turned fatal. He was shot in the back while in his car at the intersection of Ladnier Road and University Street. After being shot, his vehicle crashed into a fence at College Park Elementary School.
The investigation into the death of the male victim led police to Nicholas DeMorst. Court testimony revealed that DeMorst was the one who fatally shot Miller during the attempted drug transaction. Following his arrest, DeMorst faced a trial for his role in the crime. In June 2015, a Jackson County Circuit Court jury found him guilty of capital murder. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the robbery and killing of Hunter Miller.
DeMorst later appealed his conviction, arguing that the court had made errors regarding witness identification and the admission of certain evidence. This evidence included jailhouse recordings of conversations between DeMorst and his girlfriend, Brittany Bridges, where they discussed fabricating an alibi. The Mississippi Court of Appeals, however, upheld the capital murder conviction in a unanimous decision in June 2017, ensuring DeMorst would continue to serve his life sentence.
Brittany Bridges also faced legal consequences for her involvement in the aftermath of the murder. For her attempt to help DeMorst cover up his whereabouts on the night of the shooting, she was charged as an accessory to capital murder. In July 2017, a judge sentenced Bridges to 10 years in prison for her role in trying to obstruct the investigation and help her boyfriend evade justice.
